24 August 2015

DPMM FC coach Steve Kean was relieved to see his side pick up all three points after beating the Young Lions (Singapore national under-23 football team) 2-0 in their Singapore League (S-League) encounter last night.
The hosts dominated the opening half but were made to defend in the second half after losing Azwan Ali Rahman to a red card just before the halftime whistle.
“It is a big three points and the main reason why is because of the circumstances,” said Kean in a post match interview.
“If you look at the balance of play at halftime, we should have been 6-0 up with four really good chances which unfortunately we didn’t score.
“We should have been 6-0 and the game finished but in a flash we can see why football can change,” he added.
“When we don’t get the other goals and we get a sending off, that changes the whole complexion in the second half.
“In the first half, we were very dominant and in the second half, very disciplined. We couldn’t open up and let the Young Lions play because they are a good football side.
“We had to make sure (Rafael) Ramazotti stays marking their left back and Paulo Sergio marking the other full back.
“They are left with central defenders with the ball and that’s why they found it hard to break us down. We were disciplined and the organisation was excellent. Credit to the players,” continued the Scotsman.
It is the second red card for Azwan Ali Rahman this season and Kean hopes that he will learn from his mistake.
“I’m disappointed (with the red card). I said to Azwan Ali after game that this is part of his ongoing development,” said Kean.
“You can’t swipe at players and get a red card. It is not only the second half we miss him, we now miss him for another two games.
“He really needs to take that information. It is not a good way to get sent off and hopefully it will never happen again in his career,” he added.
On the other hand, Young Lions coach Juergen Raab felt that DPMM were simply the better side.
“I have to say that we deserved to lose today (Sunday night). If you see the first half, we could have been down 4-0 or 5-0 but our keeper (Syazwan Buhari) did very well and kept us in the match at 2-0,” said Raab.
“We were not so prepared for DPMM FC and they played a good pressing game. In the second half, we were a determined team but they (DPMM FC) were a bit more defensive in this situation,” he added. “We only created one chance and that is not enough for us to beat them,” concluded the German.

THE Asian Football Federation (AFC) Under-14 Regional Festival of Football concluded last night with Brunei losing their last game against Timor Leste 5-0, the result the hosts’ fourth defeat in as many games.

Brunei opened the festival last Tuesday with a 3-0 loss to the Philippines but they followed that up with a much-improved game against Myanmar, where they went down 3-2.

The third game saw Malaysia smash Brunei 8-0 in a match that was fully dominated by the Malaysians.

“It is a good experience for the players as they need to understand the level of international football,” said national Under-14 coach Fujiwara Takao after the match at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex.

“What is more important whether we change our attitude to football or not.

“Hopefully, for the next stage, there can be selection of more players from other districts and not just from Brunei Muara - then there will be more competition between players.

“One of the problems also is that it is difficult to get players to come to training every day due to other commitments such as schools as I only have full team training on Friday and Sunday only.

“Maybe in the future, schools can give permit to players under the national team to train more.

“Furthermore, the culture here needs to change as well because people must see sports as important as education,” said the Japanese.

At the closing ceremony, also present as the guest of honour and give away the prizes were Brunei’s Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the Education Ministry Dr Hj Junaidi Hj Abd Rahman.

All players that participated the football festival received medals and certificate of participation at the end of the event.
Among the festival’s purposes were to provide a continuous player development pathway from the grassroots at the school level to the elite level and ensure a smooth transition for elite players to the national team.

THE national Under-19 football team (Tabuan U-19) kicked off their campaign at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-19 Youth Championships 2015 with a 2-1 loss to the Philippines in Group A yesterday.
The Sultanate trailed by two goals at half-time before pulling one back 10 minutes after the interval at the Lanexang Stadium in Vientiane.
The other match saw Cambodia and hosts Laos play out to a 0-0 stalemate at the National Sports Complex.
Tabuan U-19 will play their next match against Cambodia tomorrow.
They will contest against Laos two days later before ending the group stage with a meeting against Thailand.
The competition will continue today with Group A action.
Singapore will face off against Myanmar at the National Sports Complex while Malaysia will do battle against Timor Leste at the Lanexang Stadium.
Vietnam will have the day off as the only other team in the group.

16 August 2015

DPMM FC coach Steve Kean was left with mixed feelings after watching his charges drop to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tampines Rovers FC in the second leg of their Singapore Cup quarter-final on Thursday night.
DPMM FC shotstopper Wardun Yussof had saved Fahrudin Mustafic’s injury time penalty but Ismadi Mukhtar scored on the rebound at the Jurong West Stadium in Singapore.
However, the Brunei side still advanced to the semi-finals for the second consecutive season – winning 3-2 on aggregate.
Kean was delighted to make it into the last-four of the tournament but felt that they performed well under par.
“We have set a high standard after having so many good games so far this season. So it is disappointing to drop below that,” said Kean in an interview with The Brunei Times when contacted.
“Normally we will get nine or 10 chances in a game but we only managed to create one or two.
“We know that we can’t defend for 90 minutes as the best form of defence is attack. Maybe it is just the subconscious of the players as we led (3-1) from the first leg.
“I think we were a little reluctant to go forward and the opposition sensed that. They had more possession and it was unusual,” added the Scotsman.
“But overall I’m still happy that we managed to get into the semi-finals especially against a team like Tampines.
“The defending was excellent as Boris (Raspudic), Brian (McLean) and Wardun were all fantastic. But we’ve got to keep stretching ourselves and keep demanding,” continued the former Blackburn Rovers manager.
On the other hand, Stags coach V Sundramoorthy asked his charges to turn their full attention to the Singapore League (S-League).
“Overall, the boys tried (to make it into the semi-finals). We need to move on and that’s my call to the team,” said Sundramoorthy to the S-League.
“We had a number of chances in the game, but we didn’t convert and in football, you need to put the ball in the back of the net – this is where the results are counted,” he added.
“We will now focus on the league – that’s the only thing we have in the balance and let’s try to see what we can do in the league,” continued the former Singapore national footballer.
DPMM FC will now turn their attention to their S-League match against defending champions Warriors FC at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Portuguese forward Paulo Sergio, who picked up a hamstring on Aug 1, is recovering well and back in training.

11 August 2015

DPMM FC took charge of their Singapore Cup quarter-final against Tampines Rover FC with a 3-1 win at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore last night.
A goal each from Brian McLean, Azwan Ali Rahman and Rafael Ramazotti handed the Sultanate’s only professional football club a comfortable two-goal cushion heading into the second leg at the Jurong West Stadium in Singapore on Thursday.
DPMM FC produced their best finish in the competition after edging Tampines 2-1 in the third-place playoff last season to record their first ever win against the Stags in eight meetings dating back to 2012.
According to the Singapore League’s (S-League) twitter feed, DPMM FC got off to a perfect start by finding the net in the fourth minute when McLean rose above everyone to head home Azwan Ali’s free-kick.
Tampines striker – and former DPMM FC player – Rodrigo Tosi replied almost immediately in the seventh minute when he was given plenty of space to make a run into the penalty box, but the Brazilian got his shot blocked by a DPMM FC defender.
Both teams were pressing for early goals and DPMM FC found the net again in the 12th minute through Azwan Ali, but Tampines were quick to respond with a goal from Pedrag Pocuca four minutes later.
The game settled in after the goals, with Tosi firing wide from outside the penalty box in the 35th minute for the only other real chance of the half.
The second half progressed in much the same vein as the first, with DPMM FC finding the net early in the half through striker Ramazotti with a bullet header in 48th minute.
Veteran striker Noh Alam Shah came on for Mateo Roskam in the 57th minute as the Stags were looking to strengthen their attack.
DPMM FC goalkeeper Wardun Yussof had a brilliant night and pulled off a top class save to tip away Roberto Alviz’s free-kick in the 61st minute, and the DPMM FC custodian was called into action again just a few minutes later to deny Isa Halim’s powerful shot from 30 metres out.
Tampines were desperate to get back into the game and Alviz – who like Tosi, was released by DPMM FC at the end of last season – was red carded for trying to hurry and drag the DPMM FC’s injured player off the pitch late in the game.
DPMM FC and Tampines last faced each other in a S-League tie on Aug 1 which ended 1-1 at the Jurong West Stadium.
Warriors FC will go up against 2013 Cup winners Home United at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium tomorrow and Geylang will face Global FC at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Albirex Niigata FC (S) will play defending champions Balestier Khalsa at the Jurong East Stadium on Friday.

THE National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam is set to host the first Asian Federation Football (AFC) Under-14 Regional Festival of Football on August 18.

Apart from hosts Brunei, eight other countries will be competing in the five-day event; Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Sanctioned by AFC, the event will offer certificates of participation and medals to all players that will participate in the football festival held at both the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports and the Berakas Sports Complex.

The event was announced during a press conference at National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam’s (NFABD) headquarters at Jalan Pusat Persidangan yesterday, and the event’s chairman Muhammad Radzuan Hj Madali explained why the association is playing host to the event.

“AFC president Shaikh Salman Ebrahim El Khalifa wants to support Brunei’s football in developing the game and have Brunei competing in the Asian region,” he said.

“So Brunei is given the opportunity to host an AFC event and we are keen to organise the event.

“The festival will provide an opportunity for the young players to get further experience, and this event will focus on development rather than on competition and winning as no points will be awarded.

“All the countries will send their national teams, so this is an indicator for these young players to test themselves on the international stage,” added the event chairman yesterday.

Among the festival’s purposes are to provide a continuous player development pathway from the grassroots at the school level to the elite level and ensure a smooth transition for elite players to the national team.

The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and other related government agencies.

02 August 2015

DPMM FC's winless streak in the Singapore League (S-league) stretched to five games after a 1-1 draw against Tampines Rovers FC last night.
It was the fourth straight stalemate for the Brunei side in 11 days , the result moving them up to second in the table with 23 points but on better goal difference against Albirex Niigata (S) FC.
According to the S-league Twitter updates, DPMM FC got off to the best of starts with Rafael Ramazotti winning a header for Paulo Sergio before the latter threaded a pass to Shahrazen Said to score in the sixth minute at the Jurong West Stadium in Singapore.
It was the first goal that Tampines have conceded in four matches.
Tampines were awarded a penalty in the 10th minute after Firdaus Idros was tripped in the box by Aminuddin Zakwan Tahir. The Stags skipper Fahrudin Mustafic stepped up to take the spotkick but his attempt was saved by DPMM FC goalkeeper Wardun Yussof.Sergio caught everyone off guard with a chip on a freekick from the edge of the box in the 26th minute but his effort went just wide of the post.
DPMM FC got an opportunity to double the lead in the 42nd minute with Azwan Ali Rahman chipping the ball to Shahrazen but the forward's attempt went inches wide.
The visitors got another chance five minutes into the second half after Shahrazen put the ball into the box but Ramazotti couldn't place his header on target. At the other end, Roberto Alviz sent Firdaus racing into the box but the latter's cross shot attempt shaved the post before going out.
The Stags equalised in the 54th minute with Ridhuan Muhamad making a good run down the right before setting up Mateo Roskam for the easy tap in. It is the fifth goal in four games for the Croatian.
The striker came close to grabbing the lead for the Stags in the 66th minute but put his header over the bar.
DPMM FC went on the counterattack two minutes later with Azwan Ali squaring up Shahrazen but the Tampines custodian Rodrigo Pacheco produced a good save.
Roskam got another shot on target in the 74th minute but was parried away by Wardun. The Brunei side got another chance after Ramazotti sent Shahrazen through in the 85th minute but Pacheco denied the Bruneian at the near post.
The hosts almost stole the match in the 89th minute but Rodrigo Tosi put his header at the wrong side of the post to see both teams claim a point out of the meeting.
DPMM FC will continue their campaign against Geylang International FC at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on Wednesday.

TABUAN Under-15 (the national under-15 football team) succumbed to their second straight defeat in Group A of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Under-16 Championship after getting edged 1-0 by defending champions Malaysia yesterday.A goal by Ariq Shaqirin Suhaimi in the 29th minute separated the two sides at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tabuan Under-15 will continue their campaign against Laos tomorrow before completing their fixtures against Thailand on Tuesday.Brunei are currently at the bottom of the group with one point to their name, bettering Timor Leste on goal difference.They started the competition with a 2-2 draw against Timor Leste on Monday – which is already an improvement from the last edition when they lost all four of their games.The Sultanate were then demolished 6-1 by two-time champions Vietnam two days later.
The Brunei Times

TABUAN Under-15 (the national Under-15 team) fell 6-1 to Vietnam in their second match of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-16 Championships in Phnom Penh, Cambodia yesterday.
Two-time champions Vietnam were 3-0 up in the first half and only took seven minutes after the restart to score their fourth.
Brunei pulled one back in the 68th minute but the Young Wasps conceded two goals late in the 89th and 90th minute.
It was the country’s first defeat in the group after opening with a 2-2 draw against Timor Leste on Monday.
Brunei now sit fifth in the six-team Group A with one point. Vietnam are second with three points behind leaders Laos, who recorded their second win in the group after beating Timor Leste 3-2 yesterday.
Brunei will continue their campaign against Malaysia at the National Olympic Stadium at 4.30pm tomorrow.